Linux Device Roundup

Four Linux device experts offer their opinions on the state of Linux devices and tell you about their must-have favorites.

Are you optimistic for the future of
Linux-based devices?

Kingman: Yes. If they are running Linux, they won't crash, and the battery
will last a long time.

Lehrbaum: Yes, very much so. Silicon vendors now favor Linux as the
number-one platform to get their new device-oriented processors, chipsets
and peripheral controllers up and running on, so Linux support gets a
strong head start and is generally promoted by chip makers.

Powers: Oh, without a doubt. In fact, although I was joking a bit
regarding “taking over the world”—I think Linux will continue to
spread into the embedded market. It just makes sense. Also, with projects
like Moblin and its ilk, embedded Linux on devices is looking really
snazzy.

Weinberg: I remain very bullish on Linux as embedded systems software,
notwithstanding announcements from Nokia, Symbian and others (see my blog,
address in the Resources for this article) and advances by Microsoft. These and other moves/gestures
toward openness and FOSS “scratch the itch” for access to source code as
documentation and for source escrow, but they don't offer the unique
combination of community-driven development, scalability, performance and
real self-determination that you get with Linux and accompanying FOSS.

Do you consider any particular devices from the past year or
so to be game-changers for the success of Linux? If so, why?

Kingman: The Wind River Linux Platform for
Infotainment, for showing Linux
could crack the automotive OEM equipment market; Motorola's Rokr Z6, for
showing that a Linux phone could ship in volume in the US; the Netflix
Player, for showing how inexpensive and powerful Linux multimedia devices
can be; the myriad Orion-based NAS devices, for making NAS affordable to
home users; and low-cost, power-efficient Nettop and Netbook devices, such
as the Eee PC, for bringing desktop Linux to the masses.

Lehrbaum: I really like the Netflix movie-streaming set-top-box
(manufactured by Roku). Linux has long been a winner in TV set-top boxes
(think TiVo), and it's an area of exploding interest, given the growing
ubiquity of broadband and drive toward streaming content to everyone's home
theaters.

Automotive infotainment systems—featuring GPS, traffic updates, Internet
access, streaming media, VoIP and so on—is another area set to
explode.

There also are two+ major emerging device categories that both typically
either come standard Linux or offering Linux as a full-fledged alternative to
Windows: MIDs (mobile Internet devices), Netbooks and Nettops. All these
terms were coined by Intel. MIDs strongly favor Linux due to being more
appliance-like with built-in applications and not a lot of capability for
normal users to alter the application set. Netbooks, typified by the Eee
PC, have fully functional OSes, albeit stripped to fit in limited resources
(often Flash, though HDDs sometimes are available as an option). They are
generally available with Linux-only offered for the least expensive models
and a choice of Linux or Windows XP Pro for the higher-end models (which
have more RAM and storage Flash or HDD). A variant of the Netbook is the
Nettop, having similar computing resources (including chipsets) but
packaged in a mini PC-style box rather than the mini laptop-style formats
of Netbooks.

The [articles on Netbooks by Lehrbaum, linked to in the Resources section]
project the Netbook market will reach 50
million units by 2012, up from about 5 million this year. Obviously, given
Linux as a baseline OS in the low-end models, this could be good news for
Linux. However, as costs come down and RAM/Flash becomes higher density, the
barriers to using Windows (depending on Microsoft's price positioning)
could make Windows affordable. But clearly, the lower the end-user pricing
of a Netbook, the less likely it is going to be able to afford a full-function MS
OS like Windows XP or Vista.

So there is exciting potential here for Linux. Furthermore, bearing in mind
that the whole idea of Netbook is the Net—that is, Web-based applications
are central to its functioning. Thus, a Netbook is a bit like an
Internet-connected thin client, and Linux does very well in such scenarios.
Consequently, Netbooks should be considered a very high-priority target for
Linux, just as mid- to high-end mobile phones are an important battleground
for embedded Linux.

And, just as Netbooks are a fertile field for Linux, the same is true with
Nettops—devices in which much of the heavy-lifting apps
are Internet-based, and the device itself mainly needs a browser, e-mail
client (not even required), media players and other basic functions, but
are not expected to be true PCs that run every app you might want to try to
load from a DVD.

Powers: Yes, indeed. The Eee PC began a trend that not only caught on like
wildfire, but also significantly displayed Linux as a viable operating
system for standard computer usage. We're just beginning to see how the
Linux Netbook idea will change computing. The Netbooks are smaller than
standard computers (or even notebooks), so they have a lot in common with
handheld devices, and yet they are fully functional, so they demonstrate some of the
same characteristics as a standard desktop solution. I think Netbooks
might bridge the gap and open the door for vendors to take another look at
pre-installing Linux on OEM hardware—even on the big desktop machines.
That's my hope anyway.

Weinberg: Embedded Linux is already incredibly ubiquitous in intelligent
devices. The real question is “What would change the game?” I
think there are two vectors that could boost embedded Linux positioning:

Truly open mass-market devices running Linux plus enabling middleware that
would engender and excite both ISVs and a targeted developer community.

Highly differentiated devices where Linux at the core would make a real
impression on end users and build brand equity.

I haven't seen either of those situations emerge yet, but then again, other
embedded platforms don't enjoy either scenario. Most RTOSes are
100% invisible to end users (except when they fail). Even Windows Mobile
does not enjoy ubiquitous end-user pull, nor much popularity among
developers, even if in some markets it's the only game in town.

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